Starter for internal-combustion engines.



.J. W. FITZGERALD.

STARTER FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES. APPLIUATIUH FILE D JULY 3,1907, 9&3 35 1 a Patented M1125, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET'I.

vwawtoz J. W. FITZGERALD,

STARTER FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 9,1907.

99 351 0 ?a'tented Apr, 25, 2911.

2 SEEBTS-SHEET 2 lllllhllllnlm LL moem coz w lbmzoocq starters for internal combustion engines,

stantially automatic in its operation, snnplc lJhili ED %TATE% PAglENT hlfillli JOHN IVATSON FITZGERALD, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN ASSIGNOR TO ANNABLE- FITZGERALD ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

. Patented Apr. 25, 1911.

Application filed Iuly'S, 1907. Serial No. 382,812.

To all "'whom it'mag concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN-WATSON FITZ- GERALD, a citizen of the United, States of America, residing at'Grrand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Starters for Internal-Combustion Engines; and I do hereby declare the following' to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willcnable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in and the object is to provide a device that is subin construction, and reliable in action; and

to provide the same with various new and useful. features, hereinafter more fully de- 2G 'scribed and particularly pointed out in the claims. v

My device consists essentially of means for admitting a hid under pressure to the proper cylinder, and in succession to each cylinder, of an internal combustion engine, said means comprising electrically operated valves, electric ignition circuits and a timer to close said circuits and electric circuits to operate said valves, said circuits also closed by the timer, and means for manually closing the valve operating circuits during the starting operation and opening the same wh1le the engine isrunning, and in various features of combination and arrangement, as

will more fully appear byreitercnce lo the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l. is an elevation of a device cmbodying my invention as it appears when applied to a four cylinder internal combustion engine; Fig. 2. a plan view of the szuuc; Fig. 3. an enlarged detail of the means for charg ing the reservoir with compressed fluid; Fig. 4. an enlarged detail of one of the valves and its operating magnet; Fig. 5. a detail of the rotary circuitcloser shown in vertical section; Fig. 6. a horizontal section through the same on the line GG; Fig. 7. the same on the line 7-7 and Fig. 8. a diagram illustrating the electric circuits of the device, together with the spark circuits of the engine. 1, 2, 3, and & represent the respective cyl indcrs of a four cylinder internal combustion engine; 5 represents any convenient reservoir adapted to receive and retain a fluid under considerable pressure; 6 an auxiliary combust1on chamber for chargmg said reser voir consisting of a strong metallic chamber of small dimensions compared to the cylinder of the engine and communicating with the same through any convenientrestricted passage 7 preferably a pipe having a restricted opening and inserted in the spark ,plug 9 for convenience in attaching it to on gines as now constructed. However, this pipe 7 may be otherwise inserted and arranged to communicate with the combustion chamber of the engine in any convenient way. In the top of this chamber (3 is an opening communicating with an upward extension 6 forming a cylindrical valve case, and closed by a valve 34, the upper portion of which valve fits within this extension and operates as a piston longitudinally movable therein to. preventpassage of the hot gases, and to thus protect a spring 36 engaging the valve 34 to yieldingly seat the same.

37 is a screw engaging the upper end of the spring 36 to adjust the tension of the spring, and extending through a plug which closes the upper end of the extension (3. A pipe 8 extends from opposite this valve to the reservoir 5, and a pipe 12 extends upward from said reservoir to a chest or cham ber 10, -from the upper sid c of which extend pipes 11 to the respective combustion chambers of the cylinders of the engine, preterably inserted in openings which are usually provided for the pet cocks 13. These pipes are each provided with a check valve 12 to prevent pressure in the combusl ion chambers of the cylinders from passing into, the pipes 1.1. In the chest 10 and closing each of the pipes 11 is a. valve 30 having a downwardly extended stem 2-32 supported upon a spring to maintain the valve in closed position. Surrounding the valve stem is a cylindrical body 1+1: constituting an clcctro-magilot, and having an annular chamber in which is located a coil 29 to rcndcr the same magnetic, each coil being a part otan electric circuit hereinafter described. Attached lothc valve is 'a disk armature 31 normally supported at a distance from the magnet 14: and adapted to compress the-spring and open the? valve when attracted by the magnet. i

Fig. 8, shows the preferred :u'raugcmcut of the electric circuits in which are a balter 19, and spark coils 18 connected by conductors 20. Conductors 24 extend from each coil to convey the battery current to the timer 15, which in this instance is shown of double construction, the upper. portion being in the spark circuits and having the usual four posts 16 connected to the respective conductors 24 and insulated from each other and provided with short segmental terminals 38, being grounded by a rotative contact mounted on a shaft 41 connected to the engine to rotate synchronously therewith and at one-half the speed of the same (the engine shown being of the four cycletype). The upper part of this timer is thus of the-usual construction; the moving contact 45 consisting. of a roller is prolonged downward to also operate as a circuit closer to engage the lower series of terminals and carried in'a yoke 43 extending transversely through the rotative shaft 4-1 and held in contact with the various terminals by a spring 44 engaging the yoke at one end and a casing 46 em;

bracing the yoke, at the other end. The upper terminals'38 are made of the usual length to limit the duration of the spark and the lower series of terminals 39 are made longer, whereby the valves are held open a considerable length of time or nearly the entire stroke of the piston, and these lower terminals are connected in circuits with the respective coils by means of the post 17 and the conductors 26, the other ends of the coils being connected by conductors 22 to the battery circuit. The rotating closer of the timer 15 is grounded to the engine by a conductor 28 and the engine grounded to the battery 19 by a conductor 27. both in the usual way. Switches 21 and 23 are placed in the circuits 20 and 22, whereby either circuit may be cut out at'plcasure.

The operation of my device isas follows: The engine may first be started by a manually operated crank as usual, or initial fluid pressure may be pumped up in the reservoir by any convenient means. such as a power operated or manually operated air pump,

when the engine may be started by means of this fluid pressure by merely closing the.

switch 23. The elongated contacts 39 will usually close the proper circuit by engagement of the roller 4-5.

. and timer, whereby the next closure of a circuit by the timer will be that of the cylinder next in order to make a working stroke, and

so on continuously until the normal opcr ation oi. the engine is established, when the compressed charges in the cylinders" will 'overcome the pressure of the fluid from the -the adjustment of the spring 36.

it, however, this is not the case, a slight shifting of the timer by reservoir 5 and stop the flow therefrom. It

is then only necessary to open the switch 23 and stop the action of thevalves. As soon as the normal process of the engine begins, a portion of the compressed charge of the cylinder 1 will be forced through the restricted passage 7 into the chamber-'6 and when the charge is fired inthe cylinder, fire will also pass into said chamber and explode the coninto the pipe 8 and thence to the reservoir- 5.

As the pressure in the reservoir increases this back pressure on the valve together' with the spring 36 will eventually'hold the valve 34 closed and the charge fired in the chamber 6 will then all escape through the restricted passage 7 into the cylinder. The pressure in the reservoir5 is thus automatically limited-to a maximum depending upon The higher the tension of the spring, the lower will be the maximum pressure reached in the reservoir. When the engine is stopped this reservoir will thus be automatically charged and remain with its contents under pressure.-=

ready for starting the engine again at any time, which is automatically, accomplished by merely closing the switch 23 when the described operation of'starting will be automatically repeated.

Obviously a separate rotary circuit closer' for the valves may be used, or the priinary circuits of the usual timer can beshunted' through the coils of the valve operating magnets, but I prefer a circuit closer that will hold the valves open longer than would the usual spark timer. So also anyother circuit closer'adapted to closethe proper circuits would be available for my purpose. Many other modifications may be adopted without departing from the essence of myinvention.

lVhat Iv claim is.

1. An explosive engine "starting device comprising an auxiliary pressure chamber, a magnetically controlled valve in said chamber t'or each individual .cylinder for controlling the admission of pressure thereto, and a' timing device operated by the engine for controlling the action of .said magnetic 'llO.

meansto allow the proper alve to raise and admit the-pressure to the proper cylinder to start the engine, said. timer being also arranged to control the ignition inthe. engine cylinders.

2. In combination with an internal com-- bustion engine having an electric: ignition system controlled by atimer, electrically operated starting valves for the-engine,

means for supplying fluid under pressure magnets, an

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an flux and uonnom I 11 combinaiio me h and 1'0 c circuits to to the smzond time magnets, he inner icyn'linals (rid rise eng'n Meat? mi: in the y..-

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